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Darel Rex Finley in back yard

Bold — Uh-huh

2008.05.19 prev next

RIM’s co-CEO Mike Lazaridis on the Blackberry Bold Phone

We have to be realistic about the history of [touch-screen] technology. We have to remember that this is not new — this has been done, this has been tried before.

Uh-huh.

And there are other ways to provide a large screen and a Qwerty keyboard without compromising them by putting one on top of the other.

Like making the keyboard disappear completely when it’s not needed?

I think that BlackBerry was the first and best integrated and most secure smartphone solution in the world a decade ago. And it continues to be today.

Because the iPhone 2.0 software update is still Beta.

But I think what happened was the amount of marketing and the attention (Apple) generated in the market — the customers are now coming to the store and saying I didn’t know you could do all that with a phone. And when they get there they realize there’s a selection — there’s not just one device.

And they especially didn’t realize you could do all those things with a phone without it sucking hard.

This is three years in the making. So I’m sorry but this wasn’t a response to another device.

That curved chrome bevel and black-glass front is a complete coincidence. As John Gruber notes: “Perhaps Apple copied the iPhone from them.”

Oh, wait — Lazaridis didn’t say “iPhone,” he said “another device.” My mistake.

Either that or we have a time machine somewhere, or some kind of magic crystal ball or something.

Or we saw the iPhone, along with a billion other people.

The most exciting mobile trend is... Full Qwerty keyboards. I’m sorry, it really is. I’m not making this up.

Uh-huh.

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Hear, hear

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